How to cut in without a mess

Cut-in is the two-inch band you paint with a brush so the roller never crashes the ceiling. If that line is wavy, the whole room looks wavy.

Tape can help a beginner on glossy trim. On a ceiling that’s already textured, tape often pulls fuzz or leaves a ridge. A loaded brush and a slow pull is cleaner.

The brush

A 2.5-inch angled sash brush. Dip a third of the bristle, tap off, don’t wipe it dry. You want a bead you can steer, not a starved tip.

Lay a line about a half-inch out from the corner, then ease it into the joint on a second pass. Don’t press. Pressure makes a fan, and a fan makes a fat line.

Order

Cut the ceiling line first, then around the trim, then roll the field while the cut-in is still wet. That’s how you avoid a picture-frame shine around the edges.

If you’re hiring it out, this is the part you notice when you walk in. Ask to see a past cut-in in daylight, not a phone photo.